Centre Scientifique Et Technique Jean-Feger Version Anglaise

EXCELLENCE
IN TECHNOLOGY
EXPLORATION &
PRODUCTION
+
+CSTJF
CENTRE SCIENTIFIQUE
ET TECHNIQUE JEAN FGER
+
ABOUT
TOTAL +
A top-tier international oil company, Total is also
a global gas and petrochemical operator, and
a rener and marketer of petroleum-based products.
Today, in response to soaring energy demand,
we are stepping up our expansion into solar and
biomass as well.
We are counting rst and foremost on oil and gas,
which are far from being depleted. Our activities in this sector
range from exploration and production to rening, shipping
and trading. To support our world-class rening and
petrochemical operations, we are developing competitive,
top-tier industrial platforms and strengthening our presence
in the growth markets of Asia and the Middle East.
Totals Marketing & Services organization, whose activities
notably include an extensive network of service stations,
develops and markets a range of products mainly derived
from petroleum, as well as all the related services.
We are also investing in renewable energies, opting
to branch out into photovoltaic solar energy and biomass.
We have moved up our timeline for capital expenditure in those
sectors, so that we can offer efcient, reliable solutions
to partner fossil energies.
Total is also a world-class chemical manufacturer.
In addition to polymers, we are present in the specialty chemicals
sector, which encompasses elastomer processing, adhesives
and electroplating.
All over the world, our 96,000 employees produce the energy
and products people need while putting into practice
the four cornerstone behaviors of the Total Attitude: boldness,
mutual support, listening, and cross-functionality.
+ CENTRE SCIENTIFIQUE ET TECHNIQUE JEAN FGER
EXCELLENCE
IN TECHNOLOGY
EXPLORATION &
PRODUCTION
+
2CSTJFCONTENTS
21
05 PREFACE
HSE HEALTH, SAFETY/SECURITY,
SOCIETAL/ENVIRONMENT
Ranking foremost among

the complex challenges the
imperatives of human safety and
environmental preservation are
increasingly in the public eye.
Upholding these priorities is the
only way to ensure responsible,
07
sustainable production.
+
A CRUCIBLE OF EXCELLENCE
The CSTJF is a crucible

of expertise and a melting
pot of cultures, located
in southwestern France.
Everyone here shares
a common purpose:
to produce more oil and
31
GEOSCIENCES
gas, more efciently.
+
Their job is to get rock
and uid samples to tell their
tale and to coax out meaning
from images generated by one
of the worlds most powerful
computers.
+
3CSTJFCONTENTS
45
DRILLING AND WELLS
Experts in rock mechanics,

chemistry and data processing
71
test, model and analyze
the viability of well designs
in extreme conditions.
+
RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS
59
PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES Technological innovation is
the only means of unlocking
access to new oil and gas
provinces, by developing
solutions for responsible,
sustainable production.
The Centers teams develop

tools designed to increase
recovery and monitor
+
the performance of oil
and gas elds throughout
the production period.
+

With sights set rmly
on the future, the Centre
Scientique et Technique
Jean Fger is paving
the way totomorrows
energy resources.

5CSTJFPREFACE
PREFACE
The Centre Scientique et Technique Jean Fger (CSTJF) in Pau is a
world-class hub of technological excellence and home to the scientic
expertise and R&D capabilities of Totals Exploration & Production (E&P)
branch. It boasts state-of-the-art laboratory infrastructure and a powerful
new high-performance computing (HPC) center. With these impressive
capabilities and a staff of nearly 2,500, the CSTJF is an industry-leading
center of integrated know-how.
The Center exports its scientic and technical know-how to Totals E&P
subsidiaries worldwide, providing ongoing assistance to support
our strategic objectives: maximizing production from existing elds,
bringing new projects on stream as quickly and cost-effectively as possible,
and replacing ourreserves.
With sights set rmly on the future, this extensive and highly
international campus is where we show our capacity to be
a responsible partner, equipped withthe tools and know-how
to pave the way to tomorrows energy resources.
Partnering sustainable growth in heart of southwestern France,
the CSTJF also plays a pivotal role in the economic and social
development of its hinterland.
Yves-Louis Darricarrre
President Upstream, Total
6CSTJFA CRUCIBLE OF EXCELLENCE
CHAIN OF EXPERTISE
The CSTJF is home to experts in

every discipline of the exploration
and production value chain.
The proximity facilitates interchange
between geosciences, drilling and
reservoir development specialists
and ensures the integration of these
diverse elds of expertise.
A multidisciplinary approach is vital
to redening feasibility in the oil
and gas industry.
A CRUCIBLE
OF EXCELLENCE
The CSTJF is a crucible of expertise and a melting pot of cultures.
Everyone here shares a common purpose: to produce more oil
and gas, more efficiently. Located in the heart of the Barn region
(southwestern France), the birthplace of the French natural gas
industry, the Center is dedicated to innovation in cost-effective,
environmentally responsible technologies.
+
GLOBAL REACH
Providing technical
support to Totals E&P
subsidiaries is one of
the R&D centers key roles:
CSTJFs vocation is to deploy
the full weight of its innovative
capabilities in the eld,
worldwide.
+
2,500 IN 1951, exploratory drilling led to the discovery of the giant Lacq
natural gas eld. This and ensuing discoveries met up to 90%
employees
representing every discipline of the
of Frances natural gas demand and helped shape the economic
and industrial destiny of this region of southwestern France.
Exploration & Production value chain. With the establishment of the CSTJF and many of Totals partners
and contractors in Pau, the city and the region have emerged as a hub
for the oil, gas and related industries. Between its oil, gas and chemicals
++ operations, Total accounts for more than 4,000 direct jobs at its
++ facilities in Pau and Lacq. In addition to the CSTJF, the Mont-Lacq
site is home to the R&D activities of Total Petrochemicals. Now known
as the Ple dEtudes et de Recherche de Lacq (PERL), this R&D
hub recently became a part of Totals Exploration & Production
R&D organization.
As the founder of a major chemicals hub, Total has been acting
on a commitment made in the mid-1970s to prepare for the post-gas
industrial redeployment of Lacq, as the reservoir nears depletion.
By promoting the establishment of ne chemicals companies through
Socit Barnaise de Gestion Industrielle (SOBEGI, set up by Total
in 1975), and supporting small business startups (via Total
Dveloppement Rgional, a spin-off of SOFREA, initially set up by
Elf in Pau in 1978), Total has already helped to create or maintain nearly
7,900 jobs in the Lacq region through the support provided to more
than 320 businesses.
+ Through its diversied R&D activities, the CSTJF is a prominent

partner of the scientic community
of southwestern France. The Pau metropolitan area has become a pillar
of petroleum research thanks to IFP Energies Nouvelles (IFPEN) and the
laboratories of a local school, Universit de Pau et des Pays de lAdour.
These organizations collaborate within the framework of IPRA,
a multidisciplinary institute of applied research in oil and gas engineering.
At the national level, the CSTJF is involved in some sixty R&D contracts
with researchers at universities in Bordeaux, Marseille, Montpellier, Pau,
Provence, and Toulon; at top engineering schools; and at various
institutes and laboratories. In addition, Total is funding two entities based
at the Universit de Pau et des Pays de lAdour that have introduced
a new type of collaboration between the CSTJF and academic research.
Founded in 2002, the Organisme Ptrolier de Recherche Applique en
Gophysique (OPERA) specializes in new processing algorithms for
seismic imaging, while the Centre Huile Lourde Ouvert et Exprimental
(CHLOE), set up in 2007, focuses on evaluating and improving various
processes to recover extra-heavy oil.
+ With a reach extending to the four corners of the Earth, the CSTJF
also serves as a central point of contact
and a training center for employees of many different nationalities.
Staff from partner national oil companies and representatives of Totals
host countries for E&P projects also come to the Center for highly
specialized training. Each year, the Center welcomes more than
50,000 business visitors and 70 delegations from around the world.
A wide range of training and internship programs is available to meet the
diverse needs of participants of all backgrounds. Most of these programs
are targeted and short-term, but skills transfer can also take the form of
customized programs lasting several months. Alternatively, it can be
organized within the framework of two-year stints that provide on-the-job
training in a mentoring format. Programs draw on the wealth of
technological resources available at the Center. These span the full range
of oil and gas industry expertise, such as petroleum exploration, appraisal
of discoveries, design of complex borehole trajectories and deployment
of innovative solutions to boost recovery factors and manage industrial
impacts. They take advantage of the enormous computing power
with high-performance computers able to perform two million billion
operations per second!that ranks the CSTJF among the worlds leading
scientic data processing centers. The Center also boasts an impressive
platform of high-tech laboratories spread over 5,000 m and
of coursean unmatched concentration of world-class skills.
+ The massive computing power installed at the CSTJF can be

accessed by all of Totals E&P entities
via a private telecommunications network linking 1,250 locations
worldwide. This highly strategic broadband network carries the
communications that run constantly between the E&P subsidiaries
and the Center in Pau. In addition to voice telephone trafc between
the site and the rest of the world, the telecommunications infrastructure
at the CSTJF handles video and audio communications from up
to 37 videoconferences at a time, and transmits an abundant ow
of digital data and email around the world.
These uninterrupted communications reect the CSTJFs pivotal
role in day-to-day activities in the eld. Remote interactions are
supplemented by frequent face-to-face encounters as the
globetrotters of the CSTJF head off to meet with their operational
counterparts based all around the world. Each month, they carry out
3,500 international assignments
to provide on-site support at Total
locations across the globe.
+
+ AN EXCEPTIONAL CAMPUS
The CSTJF complex in Pau was designed
in the early 1980s by local architect
Andr Grsy. On a site of about 30 hectares,
its nearly 40 buildings feature elegant
materials such as wood, glass and tile.
Representing a total oor area of about
100,000 m, they offer 30,000 m of
ofces and 5,000 m of laboratory space
in four dedicated buildings.
+
A LANDSCAPED PARK
The Centre Scientique et Technique

Jean Fger (named after the engineer
who discovered the Lacq natural gas eld)
is surrounded by extensive green areas
planted with a thousand trees of diverse
species (including oak, cork oak, mulberry
and plane). Natural runoff from these
well-maintained grounds is collected
to supply a pond. The pond water is
treated by aeration and ultrasound and
is home to a number of native aquatic
species (trout, ducks, moorhens).
Some
30 hectares
dedicated to engineering
and research.
++
++
MELTING-POT
MELTING POT
Thirty-ve different nationalities are

represented at the CSTJF, where each
year more than 150 technicians,
technicians and
engineers employed
and other professionals
by Totals
worldwide by
employed subsidiaries
Totals worldwide
join the R&D
teams for stints
subsidiaries joinof
the
three
R&Dorteams
more for
years.
This isofa three
stints strategic
or more
juncture
years.
in careers
This is
marked
a strategic
by juncture
geographic
in careers
mobilitymarked
on the
scale
by geographic
of Totals mobility
international
on thereach.
scale
of Totals international reach.
+
60 GIGABITS PER SECOND
The Centers powerful telecommunications

network is like a global superhighway.
Every day, it enables teams
around the world to stay in touch
with this regional hub.
+
A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY
In addition to being a driving force in

Paus economy, Total plays an active part
in community life through its cultural
philanthropy, which includes support
for the local orchestra and a local art
cinema. Total also sponsors heritage
conservation initiatives: nearly a dozen
restoration programs have been
supported by the Total Foundation to
enhance the regions historic buildings
and monuments, thanks to a partnership
with the Heritage Foundation.
+
ON THE FIELD
Total is also a key sponsor

of local sports as a partner
to the Pau rugby team and its
training center, the local
basketball team lan Barnais,
as well as auto racing with
the Grand Prix de Pau.
+
20CSTJFHSE HEALTH, SAFETY/SECURITY, SOCIETAL/ENVIRONMENT
COMMITMENT
Wherever we operate, we are fully aware

of our responsibilities regarding safety
and environmental preservation.
Ensuring the safety of people working
at Total sites is our priority. We also
strive to minimize the environmental
impacts of our operations as part of our
active commitment to sustainable
development.
HSE
HEALTH, SAFETY/SECURITY,
SOCIETAL/ENVIRONMENT
Ranking foremost among the complex challenges overcome
by Totals exploration and production teams, the imperatives
of human safety and environmental preservation are increasingly
in the public eye. Upholding these priorities is the only way
to ensure responsible, sustainable production.
+
THINK SAFETY
Wearing appropriate
personal protective
equipment is mandatory
for all laboratory personnel
at the CSTJF.
+
OIL AND GAS production is a hazardous business. Ever present and

multifaceted, the risks are proportional to the scale of Totals largest
industrial projects. These can entail millions of man-hours of work
by crews of thousands mobilized simultaneously on a single worksite
for months at a time, or the installation of components and systems
weighing hundreds of tons on the seaoor.
+
The goal of zero accidents drives the teams who design Totals
E&P projects and work at its operating
sites around the world. Engineers specializing in Health, Safety and
Environment (HSE) provide support across the E&P value chain
to minimize the negative impacts of our operations on people,
the environment and local communities. Teams are committed to planning,
Safety takes acting and continually improving performance towards attaining

Totals ambitious targets.
Environmental protection is an equally strong priority for the CSTJF and the
precedence
over every other consideration,
focus of numerous research projects. It is also a dominant concern on all
Total-operated production sites around the world. From the outset, every
because lives are at stake. project is designed to limit the impacts of its operations on air, water and
Christophe de Margerie
biodiversity, which is monitored especially closely. Totals Exploration &
Production branch is assertively committed to curbing greenhouse gas
emissions, a crucial component of the ght against climate change.
Water, a systematic by-product of oil and gas production, is managed
sustainably through reinjection into the original formations whenever
possible. Any produced water discharged into the natural environment
is treated to comply with very stringent standards.
Through the combined efforts of experts at the CSTJF and in the
subsidiaries, Total is able to reconcile production growth and protability
goals with the imperatives of human safety and environmental preservation.
These priorities are an integral part
of the industrys responsibilities
to current and future generations.
+
EMERGENCY DRILLS
A safety exercise in cooperation with

local reghters serves to evaluate
the effectiveness of the internal operations
plan for Pau and the surrounding area.
The remen are wearing self-contained
breathing apparatus in a drill simulating
a gas leak and risks related to hydrogen
sulde (H2S).
VIGILANT TOGETHER
A safety brieng at the Okpo site in South

Korea is attended jointly by Total teams
and those of contractor DSME, during
the construction of the Floating Production
Storage and Ofoading (FPSO) vessel
destined for the Pazor eld in Angola
(previous page ).
+
TARGETED MEASURES TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT
In Murchison Falls National Park

(Uganda), minimizing the impact of drilling
operations on the parks particularly
diverse wildlife is top priority. The use
of small electric rigs has been
recommended to limit the noise and visual
disamenities associated with oil
development.
22 mg/l
was the hydrocarbon concentration
in produced water discharged
by our offshore facilities in 2011,
a strong performance and a
signicant improvement over 2010.
++
++
ADAPTING TO THE RIGORS OF THE ARCTIC
At Kharyaga, 60 km north of the Arctic Circle

in Russias Nenets region, Total has been
producing this difcult oil eld since 1999.
The challenging environmental and climate
conditionssensitive tundra ecology,
permafrost, extreme cold (down to -65C
with the wind chill factor)dictate activities.
Planning and preparation are crucial
and all facilities must be winterized to protect
them from the frost, wind and snow.
WATER CONSERVATION
In the wings of Australias Gladstone LNG (GLNG)

project, which will convert coalbed methane into
liqueed natural gas, Total is taking part
in the Water Management program to reduce
the impact of its operations on water resources.
This Leucaena grass plantation is irrigated by water
recycled from the Fairview gas extraction site in
Roma, Queensland state.
+
30CSTJFGEOSCIENCES
31CSTJFGEOSCIENCES
THE RESERVOIR, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Geomatics, geology (itself a broad

eld encompassing more than 20 disciplines),
reservoir engineering and geophysics
all share the same aimsto discover,
understand and describe the specic features
of petroleum reservoirs, complex geological
structures that contain oil, gas and water.
The ultimate goal is to generate detailed
models showing a reservoirs architecture and
internal structure and the behavior of uids
set in motion by the production process.
GEO-
SCIENCES
The geosciences chain is made up of geoinformation
or geomatics (GIS) engineers, geologists, reservoir engineers
and geophysicists. Their job is to get rock and uid samples
to tell their tale and coax out meaning from images
generated by one of the worlds most powerful computers.
+
SEISMIC AND PETROPHYSICS
Reservoir quality is shown by

seismic imaging: the warmer
the color, the closer to the sandy
trend; the colder the color,
the closer to the shaly trend.
+
32CSTJFGEOSCIENCES
Revealing THE DISCOVERY and development of oil and gas resources

depends on analyzing and interpreting petroleum data. Geomatics or
the invisible
using the seismic
geoinformation science (GIS) is the discipline that brings together
specialists in petroleum datathe data that underpins the work of
geologists, geophysicists and reservoir engineers. GIS engineers are
techniques of geophysics.
involved throughout the life cycle of these data, from its capture,
qualication and mapping to its processing, classication and storage.
++ For there can be no future without a memory of the past.
++ Reservoir geologists focus on understanding and predicting the
behavior of oil and gas basins over time and in space. Their job is to
characterize the elements that form an oil systemthe source rock,
the reservoirs in which the oil is trapped, and the cap rock that seals
the oil deep within the rock. The foundation of the oil and gas industry,
geology is a broad discipline subdivided into some twenty elds
of specialization. These include organic geochemistry (the study of
source rocks), sedimentology (the study of sedimentary processes
that form reservoirs), structural geology (to understand the structure
of oil basins and reservoirs) and biostratigraphy (the study of the
microorganisms found in sediment). Geological expertise is prevalent
at every link in the exploration and production chain, from acquisition
of the acreage to production of the reserves.
+
Based on this work, especially the sedimentary models
of hydrocarbon traps that predict
the volumes of oil and gas in place, reservoir engineers are able to estimate
the productivity of the discoveries by modeling uid movement during
production. They can thus help reservoir architects optimize the
development plan for individual elds. The combination of theoretical data,
experience gained over the years, geological eldwork, and characterization
of the rock and uid samples taken during drilling, contributes to numerical
models made possible through the rapid growth in computing capacity.
33CSTJFGEOSCIENCES
Although samples provide valuable hard information when building these

models, their size is extremely limited compared to the overall scale of the
eld under investigation. In fact, the challenge addressed daily by reservoir
geologists and engineers is comparable in complexity to modeling the Eiffel
Tower based on a sample the size of a pinhead.
+
The CSTJF receives samples for analysis from the around
the world. Its extensive collection
of core samples taken during drilling is used to study the composition
of reservoir rocks in minute detail. This geology laboratory is
equipped with a CT scanner for three-dimensional imaging.
At the same time, the physical properties of reservoir rock and their
ability to contain and permit the ow of oil or gas are analyzed in
petrophysics laboratories. The uids themselves are studied under
reservoir temperature and pressure conditions. Experiments that can
last up to several months predict the effectiveness of various production
processes on a microscopic scale. The aim is to understand how
the oil or gas will behave over the twenty-year (or longer) producing
life of the reservoir.
The next link in the chain of geosciences expertise is geophysics, which
has emerged as one of the CSTJFs areas of excellence.
By applying seismic technology, geophysics reveals the invisiblethe
reservoirfor the rst time. Acoustic waves generated by vibrations on
land or at sea are partially reected by the various geological strata they
encounter as they propagate through the subsurface. Logging the
signals of these reected waves at the surface yields an image of the
geological layers. The data are then used to build a three-dimensional
(3D) model of the contours and internal architecture of the oil traps.
34CSTJFGEOSCIENCES
Through ongoing dialogue, geophysicists in the E&P subsidiaries

and specialists at the CSTJF can recommend the most appropriate
acquisition systems for offshore and onshore operations. In addition,
the Centers team helps to build the more complex seismic images
using innovative processing algorithms that require the extensive
computing power available at the CSTJF.
+
What do a supercomputer, a medical-type CT scanner and a small
chamber pressurized to one metric ton
per square centimeter have in common? They are all part of the CSTJFs
Geosciences platform. This hardware, along with other equipment,
is used for studies conducted in Pau to assist the subsidiaries efforts
to discover and appraise new oil and gas reservoirs. Buried as far
as 8,000 meters beneath the Earths surface, lying in ultra-deep water,
or trapped in the chaotic geology of mountain ranges, as-yet
undiscovered oil and gas resources are spurring the industry to explore
new and extreme frontiers, pushing technology to its furthest limits
then further still.
Exactly how deep is a reservoir? How big is it? Does this gigantic
sequence of sedimentary layers contain oil or gas? In what quantity,
and how much of that can be recovered? E&P subsidiaries turn
to the CSTJF for answers to some of these questions. For the most
complex scenarios, the full range of the Centers technological
resources and advanced know-how is brought into play.
Coordination between the CSTJF
and the subsidiaries is vital to obtaining
reliable answers to these strategic
questions.
+
35CSTJFGEOSCIENCES
CORE SAMPLES BY THE THOUSANDS
Core samples are cylinders of rock

removed during drilling; they are the
only visible elements of petroleum
reservoirs. Every year, Totals
subsidiaries ship more than
a kilometers worth of new cores
to the CSTJF, where they are added
to its large collection. The Center
is equipped to extract a maximum
amount of valuable data from
these samples.
+
A CT SCANNER TO ANALYZE CORE SAMPLES
The CT scanner is just one of the

high-tech instruments available at the
CSTJF Geology Laboratory. Tomographic
images of core samples are re-combined
to yield three-dimensional images that
highlight differences in density between
the various components of the rock.
This in turn gives a virtually direct
indication of the volume of hydrocarbons
contained in each sample, a key
parameter of reservoir characterization.
+
36CSTJFGEOSCIENCES
SCANNING IN 3D
A rock sample is scanned using

a portable laser to determine its total
volume. The contours (or envelope)
of the sample are registered and
reconstructed to yield a highly
accurate 3D model. Subtracting
the actual rock volume from the total
volume gives the volume of pores,
or voids. This information will
facilitate subsequent calculation
of the porosity of the rock.
+
DIZZYING COMPUTING POWER
Boasting a record computing power

of 2.3 petaopsor 2.3 million billion (1015)
operations per secondthe new
high-performance computer acquired
by the CSTJF (this page and following
page) makes Total a global leader
in scientic processing capacity.
It is primarily used to process the complex
calculation codes developed by the CSTJF
to enhance the resolution and reliability
of subsurface seismic images.
2.3 million
billion
operations per second.
++
++
41CSTJFGEOSCIENCES
MASS STORAGE
Every day, the volume of digital data

at the CSTJF swells with the addition
of thousands of bytes of data from
computation, design and modeling
applications. Backing up these data
is critical and relies on an internal
storage capacity of 2.6 million billion
bytes, equivalent to a ve-kilometer-
high stack of CD-ROMs. To ensure
integrity and security in the event
of a disaster or other critical incident
on site, the data is transferred to
an offsite storage vault every week.
+
GEOMODELING
With its new high-performance

computer, CSTJF teams can
generate higher-resolution seismic
for more reliable, more detailed
images of the subsurface.
This seismic image shows the cap
rock in a complex sub-salt context.
+
IMAGING TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN INSIGHT
Satellite images give broad views of petroleum basins;

seismic reections reveal the chaotic contours and folds
of the subsurface; 3D models depict reservoirs with their
geological structures and uids. All these images have much
to tell geoscientists who know how to interpret them.
For although calculations are one key to understanding
and managing reservoirs, the art of interpretation is what
makes them accessible.
+
INTERPRETING THE LAYERS
By correlating the interpretation

of geologic layers revealed by
seismic with sedimentary
concepts of rock formation,
experts can identify the zones
that determine reservoir
architecture and uid ows.
+
44CSTJFDRILLING AND WELLS
STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY
In the labs, experts in physics,

chemistry and rock mechanics
provide decisive input to prepare
drilling programs. Although the basic
principle of drilling is simple enough
bore a hole until it reaches oil
or gasdrilling programs are
industrial exploits that can last
several years. Realizing them
is a challenge that demands state-
of-the-art technology.
DRILLING
AND WELLS
Drilling is an adventure that begins in the laboratory,
where experts in rock mechanics, chemistry and data processing
test, model and analyze the viability of well designs under
extreme conditions.
+
DRILLING TOOL
A prototype tricone
roller bit attacks the rock
by breaking and crushing
action.
+
KIRKUK, 1927: Compagnie Franaise des Ptroles, the forerunner

of todays Total and an early shareholder in the Iraq Petroleum Company
(IPC), made its rst oil strike in Iraq.
Tierra del Fuego, 1999: Totals Argentinean subsidiary completed
a two-year drilling program here. One of the eleven wells drilled set
a new world record for length, at 11,884 meters. Drilled from the shore,
it descended more than 1,600 meters into the subsurface before
continuing its horizontal trajectory to tap an offshore eld lying more
than 10 kilometers from the coast. Drilling is now a high-tech
undertaking in which physics, chemistry, data processing, real-time
analysis of downhole logging data (recorded during drilling) and
sophisticated well-steering tools are all vital to managing todays
increasingly complex well trajectories.
+
Drilling horizontal wells thousands of meters long that cross
through one reservoir after another
over their entire length is just one of the technological challenges facing
Totals experts. And this challenge is of an entirely different magnitude
when the elds are deeply buried. Take, for example, the Elgin and
Franklin elds in the North Sea, where Total E&P UK had to work with
high-temperature/high-pressure gas and condensate discovered under
more than 5,500 meters of rock. At these depths, temperature hovers
around 200C and pressure exceeds 1,000 bar. One major difculty lies
in steering well trajectories without the help of downhole
instrumentation, as electronic devices cannot operate under these
physical conditions. Another is accessing the petroleum traps without
triggering a blowout under pressure. In the Gulf of Guinea, Totals E&P
At these depths,
temperature hovers around 200C
and pressure exceeds 1,000 bar.
++
++
subsidiaries in Angola, Nigeria and Congo are confronting

the challenges of deepwater drilling (water depths from 1,000 to
2,500 meters). For this scenario, drilling rigs have evolved into oating
vessels, their stability guaranteed by an ultra-sophisticated dynamic
positioning system to centimeter-scale tolerance, even in rough seas.
+
Regardless of the context, efficiency and safety of operations
are the watchwords when it comes
to minimizing the time it takes to drill wells, which can cost over
a million dollars a day. Whether it lasts less than a month or requires
a full year, every drilling assignment must juggle the need for speed
and the imperative of risk management. An unstable wellbore or
damage to the rock formation during drilling could jeopardize
the well and its productivity. Thanks to its extensive engineering
and testing expertise and skills, the CSTJF is the partner of choice
when subsidiaries are confronted with challenging situations.
Borehole stability during drilling is a major topic of investigation
at the Rock Mechanics Laboratory. There, strength tests are conducted
on samples of the geological strata encountered in order to optimize
the more complex well trajectories.
Commonly known as muds, drilling uids play an essential role in
borehole stability. Injected under pressure at the bottom of the hole,
they circulate constantly, bringing the drill cuttings to the surface.
Mud density is controlled to ensure balanced pressure between the hole
and the formation. If the mud is too heavy, it could be forced into the
rock, damaging the reservoir and potentially jeopardizing the stability
of the borehole. If it is too light, it will not prevent uid (either water
or hydrocarbons) from seeping into the well bore from the surrounding
formation.
This is where the expertise of the chemists at the Fluids and Cements
Laboratory comes into play. Their task is to nd the right balance and
most effective formulation for the drilling mud. For their part, the experts
from the Productivity Laboratory will select specic additives to minimize
damage or restore the productivity of reservoir zones, particularly the tiny
networks of fractures that allow oil and gas to ow through the rock and
into the well when it is brought on stream. Unlike the early Kirkuk project,
drilling is no longer a task for a single
person. It requires the combined
know-how of an integrated team
of specialists.
+
Drilling costs for the most

complex wells can exceed
one million dollars

a day.
++
++
ENGINEERING THE RESERVOIR/

WELLBORE INTERFACE
The reservoir/wellbore interface

has strategic implications for well
productivity. In certain
congurations, this zone must
be equipped with sand control
systems to retain the sand
produced along with the well
uids. Failing to do so could
jeopardize productivity
or damage equipment.
To stimulate productivity in
carbonate formations,
a concentrated acid solution
is injected into the near-wellbore
zone. The acid creates a network
of wormholes that constitute
conductive channels from the
formation to the wellbore.
+
PRODUCTIVITY
Laboratory studies
guide the choice of
the most appropriate
lter device based on
the type and quantity
of sand produced with
the well uids.
+
IN PURSUIT OF PERFECTION
To limit the ever-increasing

costs of drilling as much
as possible, perfection is
the keyand the secret
to optimizing drilling efciency.
Attaining this high standard
requires in-depth knowledge
of the rock encountered and
its response to the drilling.
This is one of the fundamental
missions of the Rock
Mechanics Laboratory.
+
CUSTOMIZED CEMENTS AND MUDS
Despite the similarities

between the subsurface
layers drilled, the mud
formulation, essential
to smooth drilling operations,
is tailored to each case.
+
MORE THAN 1,000 BAR
In the U.K. sector of the North Sea,

Total drilled one of the very rst stepout
wells in a high-pressure/high temperature
environment. The 7,300-meter-long
Glenelg well reached its target
5,600 meters beneath the seabed,
with a reservoir temperature of 200C
and pressure of 1,150 bar. This feat
was made possible by the complex
studies performed at the CSTJFs
laboratories. Here, the Pressure Volume
Temperature (PVT) lab.
1,500 bar
and 200C
These extreme pressure
and temperature conditions
are a regular focus of investigation
in the CSTJF laboratories.
++
++
58CSTJFPRODUCTION TECHNIQUES
DECADES
Producing a reservoir is a complex,

dynamic process lasting many years,
in which enormous volumes of uids
of varying viscosity and corrosiveness
are set in motion using a variety of
technologies. Oileld operations
engineers focus on key themes such
as forestalling the decline in
production, preventing the
deterioration of production facilities
and adapting extraction processes
to the physical and chemical changes
that well uids undergo over the
producing life of the eld.
+
PRODUCTION
TECHNIQUES
Innumerable parameters affect the volume of hydrocarbons
that can be produced from a reservoir. The teams at the CSTJF
have developed an arsenal of tools designed to increase this
recovery factor and monitor eld performance throughout
+
STRESS TESTS
These measurements
serve to analyze
the compressibility
of uid samples.
+
AN OIL ACCUMULATION is not an underground lake that can simply

be pumped to bring its contents to the surface. In fact, oil and natural
gas are trapped in porous, permeable rock formations called reservoirs.
Producing the resources thus involves draining the pores. Only a small
percentage of the oil or gas in place (10 to 35% for crude oil) can
feasibly be extracted. The exact amount depends on the rocks
properties and on the uids ability to ow through it. Enhancing
this recovery factor by even a few percentage points has tremendous
implications for reserve replacement and is a core challenge for all
the disciplines involved in oil and gas production.
+ It takes several years to bring a eld into production after

it is discovered. That period is put
to good use identifying the most appropriate production technologies
and systems. At the CSTJF, scientists and engineers focus on
determining the most effective recovery mechanism for the reservoirs,
calculating the well trajectories that will optimize drainage and estimating
the quantities of oil, gas and water that the eld will yield over its lifetime.
These analyses are coordinated with a simultaneous effort by other
experts who apply their ingenuityaided by physical-chemical
analysesto predict how the hydrocarbons will behave during
production, especially their ability to ow to the well. They carefully
evaluate and mitigate all factors liable to hinder production, such as pipe
clogging or corrosion. In addition to the long list of factors that will guide
the denition of the production plan, risks relating to seismic activity, the
ocean environment and meteorological conditions must be assessed
and taken into account.
Defying time
to forestall oileld decline.
++
++
+ All oil companies are now producing more water than oil, and
the water cut inevitably rises as a eld
matures. Somebut not allof this water can be reinjected into the
reservoir for pressure maintenance. For the remainder, increasingly
stringent international regulations governing produced water discharge
into the marine environment call for another solution. Ideally, a greater
proportion of it could be returned to the formation. To do so, produced
water must undergo ne ltration to mitigate the risk of formation
damage or plugging of wells. Given the scale of an oileld, the chosen
technology must be both highly efcient and economical.
The engineers at the CSTJF are meeting the challenge with a ceramic
membrane ultraltration process, an innovative technology that offers
superior performance compared to conventional systems. It removes
suspended solids as tiny as a few hundredths of a micron, as well as
droplets of non-soluble hydrocarbons. This is the rst time the technique
is being applied to oileld produced watera new rst for Total and
a new milestone for the E&P industry in general.
Throughout the decades-long life of a eld, the CSTJF helps Totals
operating entities optimize and sustain the productivity of their elds,
extending their producing life down to the last drop. Expert analyses
of rock samples and well uids guide the development of processes
to restore productivity in reservoir layers that may have deteriorated over
+
A wide array of leading-edge technologies can also be deployed
to boost output by forcing the oil
and gas to ow to the wells. Conventionally, water and gas are injected
to sweep the maximum possible amount of hydrocarbons in the right
direction, but more sophisticated techniques are also available.
Analytical chemistry makes it possible to formulate additives tailored to
the properties of individual reservoirs. These can be mixed with the
water or gas being injected to displace the crude oil from the rock more
effectively. The CSTJF is also examining the feasibility of injecting
polymer, air, steam, foam or solvent (hydrocarbons and/or carbon
dioxide) in an effort to devise new solutions and raise the nal recovery
factors signicantly. In the drive to improve the productivity of Totals
assets, the CSTJF has the resources it takes to invent new tools that will
benet Totals E&P subsidiaries. For example, new software applications
have been developed to pinpoint possible causes of production losses,
in real time. These innovations inaugurate a new era of remote
monitoring of eld performance, with data accessible in subsidiary
ofces as well as at the CSTJF.
These innovations all target the
same goal: pushing recovery factors
ever higher.
+
Improving
oil recovery factors,
a test of expertise.
++
++
CERAMIC MEMBRANE ULTRAFILTRATION
In a world rst, our R&D tested

ceramic membrane ultraltration
on produced water. This technology
successfully removed suspended
solids down to a hundredth
of a micron (versus 5 microns
in conventional technologies).
+
HYDRATE LOOP
Resembling ice plugs, hydrates form

in hydrocarbons in the presence of water
and gas under specic pressure and
temperature conditions. They constitute
a serious physicochemical risk.
The CSTJFs hydrate loop, where
hydrocarbons ow at controlled
temperature and pressure, is used to study
and quantify the specic risks for each eld,
then to test preventive solutions.
+
PYROLYSIS
The Fluids and Organic Geochemistry

Laboratory simulates hydrocarbon
generation by heating metal tubes
that contain rock samples in an inert
atmosphere to very high temperature.
The resulting hydrocarbons are then
analyzed.
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
This laboratory measures

the petrophysical properties
of rock samples. Using specic
acquisition sequences, nuclear
magnetic resonance reveals the
rocks porosity and pore network
structure as well as the nature
and quantity of the uids
it contains, in both laboratory
and reservoir conditions.
+
MEASURING POROSITY AND PERMEABILITY
Here, core samples are

cleaned to remove all
organic matter using either
a small quantity of boiling
solvent or pressure.
Permeability and porosity
are then measured on the
cleaned rock samples.
+
STEP DECAY METHOD
This laboratory recently put 69CSTJFPRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

in place by Total is equipped
to perform high-precision
permeability measurements
on dense, low-permeability rock
samples taken mainly from
formations that contain
unconventional resources
(e.g., shale gas, tight gas).
MICRODISTILLATION
The aim of microdistillation is

to separate small samples of oil
into their component fractions,
according to boiling point.
In addition to identifying
the precise composition of the oil,
microdistillation can be used
to evaluate its commercial value.
+
70CSTJFRESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS
FROM THE LAB TO THE FIELD
As the main R&D hub for Totals E&P

branch, the CSTJFs vocation also
includes overcoming the technological
hurdles that hinder access to frontier
resources. This R&D strategy attests
to Totals impressive innovative
capabilities. We have operations in the
worlds major sedimentary basins.
RESEARCH
AND APPLICATIONS
Technological innovation is the only means of gaining
access to new oil and gas provinces, through the development
of new solutions for responsible, sustainable production.
When it comes to the future of energy, only innovation has
the power to stretch the realm of feasibility.
+
CHROMATOGRAPHY
The chemical components

of a sample (oil, rock or mud)
are examined and analyzed
in the Chromatography Lab.
Here, oil samples are bottled
and kept in cold storage.
+
MOST OF THE R&D supporting Totals Exploration & Production

operations is concentrated in France, at the CSTJF. Here, nearly
700 R&D engineers and technicians are dedicated to improving
the tools already available to exploration teams. They also strive to
develop innovations that will enable protable production of frontier
resources. Additional research priorities include optimizing production
techniques to increase reserves on conventional elds, and developing
new technologies to preserve the environment (especially air and water)
and ensure the safety of people and facilities. The CSTJF is the nerve
center for more than 30 research projects in the areas of deepwater
development, extra-heavy oils and oil sands, acid gases, carbonate
reservoirs, deeply-buried reservoirs and unconventional gas.
+
Totals E&P research is driven by six other centers as well,
ve of which are outside France.
This network gives Total access to expertise available in other parts of
the world concerning themes decisive for our growth (in situ mining
of oil sands, deep offshore, carbonate reservoirs, environment and
geosciences). Two of the centers are in North America (Canada and
the United States), three in Europe (France, UK and Norway) and one
in the Middle East (Qatar). The Lacq-based R&D hub Ple dtudes
et de Recherche de Lacq (PERL), recently joined Totals E&P research
organization. Its 80 scientists specializing in physical chemistry,
gas treatment and environmental science now take part in research
on enhanced oil recovery and dispersants for pollution prevention
in the context of the deep offshore.
The international scope of Totals R&D is further reected in the

more than 700 active partnerships with university research, national
and international oil companies and other rms of varying sizes.
With innovation being a driver of growth in Totals Exploration & Production
activities, the Intellectual Property department is part of the R&D
organization and dedicated to securing patent protection for Totals
innovations. This portfolio, which has grown steadily since 2006,
showcases the technological advances that Total has achieved and
enhances our image of technological excellence.
+
Shale gas and coalbed methane are termed unconventional gas
due to the atypical geographic locations
of the plays or the atypical geological characteristics of the reservoir
rock. Producing these resources demands a specic set of stimulation
and recovery techniques. Unconventional gas has game-changing
potential for the replacement of global gas reserves. So after a decade
of involvement in the development of tight gas reserves, Total recently
invested in the production of shale gas and coalbed methane by forging
alliances with companies having proven expertise in this eld. Through
one such partnership in Argentina, Total now holds interests in several
permits to appraise shale gas potential. Drilling began in 2012.
+
Total is meeting the challenges of deepwater oil and gas production.
Our facilities have been recovering
reserves under more than 1,500 meters of water for more than a decade.
These bold operations are set to become even more complex
going forward, as oil and gas will have to be transported over long
subsea distancesin some cases, more than 100 kilometers.
R&D teams are developing new architectures centered on subsea
processing technology. In other words, the facilities for water treatment
and injection, chemical storage and pumping, will be installed
on the seabed. Also ahead is a shift to all-electric systems to replace
hydraulic controls. These innovations will be the key to descending even
deeper below the surfaceto water depths of 3,500 meters
and producing even the most difcult uids.
A further priority of R&D is Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), an umbrella
term that encompasses several families of techniques aimed at
improving recovery factors. Chemical EOR research is being carried out
by Totals Exploration & Production teams, including the Lacq-based
Oil and gas will R&D hub (PERL) and our subsidiary Total E&P Angola. This
collaboration led to the development of the rst polymer-viscosied
have to be
transported over long subsea
water injection system designed to improve oil recovery factors in the
deep offshore. Deploying the project on Angolas deepwater Dalia eld
would increase its reserves by 3% over ten years.
distancesin some cases, more
than 100 kilometers.
++
++
+
Meanwhile, other teams at the CSTJF have developed a solution
for tapping many of the gas discoveries
in Europe, Russia and the Middle East, most of which contain acid
gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulde as well as other
sulfur-containing compounds (i.e., mercaptans and carbon oxysulde).
HySWEET technology, the fruit of several years of development, meets
the challenges of simultaneously removing mercaptans and acid gases
(including hydrogen sulde); limiting co-absorption of hydrocarbons,
and achieving energy gains compared to conventional sweetening
technologies. HySWEET, based on the use of a hybrid solvent, has
been in industrial operation at Lacq (France) since 2008.
Another topic with signicant implications for the future is CO2 capture
and geological storage. How can we limit our emissions of greenhouse
gases, particularly carbon dioxide? Once we have separated the acid
gas CO2 from the natural gas (methane) stream, how can we dispose
of it without simply venting it to the atmosphere? Moreover,
with combustion being an indispensable part of oil production,
how can we avoid emitting tons of additional CO2 each year?
These are compelling questions for the future of our planet.
One of the most promising solutions lies in capturing the CO2 and
storing it underground in geological formations. Once again,
the CSTJF is on board: as early as 2007, its R&D teams began
developing a pilot project unmatched in Europe at an industrial plant
not far from the Lacq complex. The purpose of this project is
to demonstrate the industrial feasibility of an end-to-end chain of
CO2 capture, transport and injection
into a depleted underground natural
gas reservoir.
+
CO2 CAPTURE
An end-to-end CO2 capture and

storage chain equipped with a
30 thermal megawatt (MWth)
oxyfuel combustion boiler was
tested at Lacq in Europes rst
integrated trial of this technology.
DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY
All gas produced at Totals Lacq

plant is now being treated using the
HySWEET process for acid gas
sweetening. This technology
combines the chemical action of an
amine compound with the physical
properties of a co-solvent to allow
simultaneous absorption of CO2, H2S
and other sulfur compounds (e.g.,
mercaptans and carbon oxysulde).
HySWEET also shows energy
gains of 10 to 20% compared to
conventional techniques. The rst
commercial license for this
game-changing innovation was
issued in 2010 for a unit due to come
on stream in 2013. This will allow
pursuit of the thiochemicals
(sulfur-based chemicals) business
in the Lacq region.
+
EXTRA-HEAVY OIL
The gigantic PetroCedeo project is the

fruit of the CSTJFs research on the
recovery and upgrading of extra-heavy
oil. Large-scale production of these
unconventional oils and conversion to
a light synthetic crude began in
Venezuela in 2002. R&D teams at the
CSTJF and the Lacq-based R&D hub
(PERL) are currently developing
an enhanced oil recovery technique
based on injecting water and polymer
into the reservoir; this could potentially
double the recovery factor of the
PetroCedeo eld.
+
DALIA
The Dalia eld is the site

of the worlds rst pilot study
of deepwater polymer injection
(polymer-viscosied water)
aimed at improving recovery
factors.
+
ONGOING INNOVATION
Advances in seismic imaging now
allow geophysicists to see things
that were invisible barely a decade ago.
For example, the CSTJF developed
new calculation codes for seismic
depth imaging that have shed light
on salt structures impervious to more
conventional imaging. Here, a reservoir
grid deformed by salt movements.
+
+
Exploration & Production Creative design and layout: Photo credits:
Philippe Boulze, tienne Follet, Alain Guilhot/Divergence, Franois Lacour,
Laurent Pascal, Patrick Redonnet, Total Photo Library, DR TOTAL February 2013.
This edition is printed on FSC-certied Heavy 42 paper with all ber sourced from sustainably
managed forests. Printing uses vegetable ink made from renewable raw materials.
The printer is certied as complying with ImprimVert, the French printing industrys
environmental initiative, and with FSC, and undertakes to implement concrete
and ongoing measures to reduce pollutant emissions and conserve natural resources.
Thanks to everyone in Totals Exploration & Production branch for their kind participation.
See you at:
www.total.com
TOTAL S.A.
Share capital: 5,909,418,282.50 euros
Registered in Nanterre: RCS 542 051 180
Exploration & Production Paris

2, place Jean Millier La Dfense 6
92078 Paris-La Dfense Cedex France
Tel.: +33 (0)1 47 44 45 46
Exploration & Production Pau

Avenue Larribau 64018 Pau Cedex France
Tel.: +33 (0)5 59 83 40 00
E&P Communications contact: EP.COM-CSTJF@total.com

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EXCELLENCE

Ranking foremost among

The CSTJF is a crucible

gas, more efciently.

Experts in rock mechanics,

The Centers teams develop

The CSTJF is home to experts in

+ Through its diversied R&D activities, the CSTJF is a prominent

+ The massive computing power installed at the CSTJF can be

The Centre Scientique et Technique

Thirty-ve different nationalities are

The Centers powerful telecommunications

In addition to being a driving force in

Total is also a key sponsor

Wherever we operate, we are fully aware

OIL AND GAS production is a hazardous business. Ever present and

Safety takes acting and continually improving performance towards attaining

A safety exercise in cooperation with

A safety brieng at the Okpo site in South

In Murchison Falls National Park

At Kharyaga, 60 km north of the Arctic Circle

In the wings of Australias Gladstone LNG (GLNG)

THE RESERVOIR, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

Geomatics, geology (itself a broad

SEISMIC AND PETROPHYSICS

Reservoir quality is shown by

Revealing THE DISCOVERY and development of oil and gas resources

Although samples provide valuable hard information when building these

Through ongoing dialogue, geophysicists in the E&P subsidiaries

CORE SAMPLES BY THE THOUSANDS

Core samples are cylinders of rock

A CT SCANNER TO ANALYZE CORE SAMPLES

The CT scanner is just one of the

A rock sample is scanned using

Boasting a record computing power

Every day, the volume of digital data

With its new high-performance

Satellite images give broad views of petroleum basins;

By correlating the interpretation

In the labs, experts in physics,

KIRKUK, 1927: Compagnie Franaise des Ptroles, the forerunner

subsidiaries in Angola, Nigeria and Congo are confronting

Drilling costs for the most

one million dollars

ENGINEERING THE RESERVOIR/

The reservoir/wellbore interface

To limit the ever-increasing

CUSTOMIZED CEMENTS AND MUDS

Despite the similarities

In the U.K. sector of the North Sea,

Producing a reservoir is a complex,

AN OIL ACCUMULATION is not an underground lake that can simply

+ It takes several years to bring a eld into production after

CERAMIC MEMBRANE ULTRAFILTRATION

In a world rst, our R&D tested

Resembling ice plugs, hydrates form

The Fluids and Organic Geochemistry

NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE

This laboratory measures

Here, core samples are

This laboratory recently put 69CSTJFPRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

The aim of microdistillation is

FROM THE LAB TO THE FIELD